1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a laminating apparatus for fixing a film onto a record medium on which an image was formed by an ink jet printer, a printing apparatus, a copying machine and the like in order to protect a recorded image layer of the medium, and more particularly, it relates to a laminating apparatus and a method for manufacturing a laminated article, suitable for being applied to a large system used for producing posters and the like.
2. Related Background Art
In the past, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Application Laid-Open No. 2000-043368, there is known a laminating apparatus in which a film comprised of a heat-resistive substrate and a latex layer coated on the substrate is fixed onto a recorded image surface of a record paper outputted from an ink jet printer and the like and color saturation and endurance of the image are improved by peeling the heat-resistive substrate later.
In such a laminating apparatus, a rolled paper (record medium) and a rolled film (protecting member) are sent together by a pair of convey rollers, and a recorded surface of the record paper and a latex surface of the protecting member are heated and urged (or pressurized) against each other by a pair of heat rollers so that the latex surface of the protecting member is fused and closely adhered onto the record surface of the record paper, thereby forming an image protecting surface. Then, the substrate is peeled and separated from the protecting member and is taken up by a take-up roller. Thereafter, the record paper with the image protecting surface is cut by a cutter, so that the cut paper is discharged onto a discharge tray as a sheet-shaped print.
However, in such a conventional laminating apparatus, after the film is fixed to the record medium, the record medium to which the film was fixed is conveyed toward a discharge port. At that time, since the film is rolled, the film is drawn toward the discharge port until the film is cut, as the record medium is conveyed.
If a distance between the fixing means and the discharge port is long, an amount of the film drawn by conveyance of the record medium is increased, thereby worsening use efficiency of the film. When the use efficiency of the film is worsened, cost is increased and saving of resources is reduced.
The present invention is made in consideration of the above-mentioned conventional circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a laminating apparatus and a method for manufacturing a laminated article, in which a film can be used efficiently.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a laminating apparatus and a method for manufacturing a laminated article, in which a preceding record medium and a film can be cut in a conveying condition while fixing the film onto a succeeding record medium.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a laminating apparatus and a method for manufacturing a laminated article, in which one of a pair of rollers for pressurizing and heating a record medium and a film is provided with a heat source, and the one roller can be shifted to be spaced apart from the other roller so that the one roller can be held to not be in contact with the film.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a laminating apparatus which has a unit-of-sheet mode in which a record medium is fed by feed means and an introduced film is fixed onto the record medium by fixing means, and the fixed record medium and the film are conveyed by conveying means and are cut by a cutter and a completed sheet is discharged from a discharge port.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a laminating apparatus in which a second sensor is disposed on a downstream side of fixing means for fixing a film to a record medium, and the second sensor has a first condition for detecting the fixed record medium and a film portion, a second condition for detecting the film portion on which the record medium does not exist, and a third condition for detecting the fact that both the record medium and the film do not exist.
The other object of the present invention is to provide a laminating apparatus comprising fixing means for fixing a film onto a front side of a record medium, feed means for feeding the record medium to the fixing means, film introducing means for directing the film to the fixing means, conveying means for conveying toward a discharge port the record medium and the film which are fixed together by the fixing means, a cutter disposed between the conveying means and the discharge port and adapted to cut the film, and a control unit having a repeat mode in which the conveying means is stopped in a condition that a preceding record medium leaves the fixing means and the feed means is driven to feed a succeeding record medium toward the fixing means, and then the fixing means and the conveying means are driven again before a leading end of the succeeding record medium reaches the fixing means, while the succeeding record medium and the introduced film are fixed together as discharging the preceding record medium from the discharge port.